Grove
GROVE: Military aerodrome
Note: pictures by the author unless specified.
Military users: USSTAFE Air Service Command
3rd Tactical Air Depot and US Army Air Corps
31st Air Transport Group
302nd Air Transport Wing (Douglas C-47 Skytrains)
Location: W/SW of Grove village, west of A338, 1.5nm NW of Wantage
Period of operation: 1942 to 1946
Runways: 04/22 1829x46 hard 16/34 1280x46 hard
09/27 1097x46 hard
NOTES: In WW2 many US Army liaison aircraft were assembled here after shipment. This seems to have been a pretty major facility for the USAAF and USAAC in WW2 with 3402 personnel on station here in late 1944.
In September 2009 my friend, the late Austin Brown handed me an account by John Stroud probably published early in 1946 of the work undertaken by the USAAF 31st Air Transport Group and it contains some, (for me at least?), quite astonishing information. Today I wonder how many people know there was a really major airfield at GROVE in WW2?
I first learnt about the existence of GROVE when learning to fly from WYCOMBE AIR PARK because GROVE was the first turning point on a solo cross-country exercise without landing away. Quite tricky to spot at certain times of year.
To give a few quotes from the article by John Stroud who had visited this base probably late in 1945; “Prior to the invasion this Group was fully occupied in flying cargo to the ‘jumping off points’ along the South Coast. - On June 11, 1944 an advance Unit the first of the Group’s C.47s arrived in France….setting up their headquarters in a slit trench. They unloaded tons of small arms, ammunition, bombs, medical supplies and blood plasma.”
He then goes on to say; “On the return journeys to England the Group’s aeroplanes evacuated 27,120 wounded from beach-head landing strips, all of whom were flown to base hospitals in England, and in August, 1944, 20% of all American casualties in France were evacuated by the 31st Transport Group.”
AN ASTONISHING FACT?
Then comes the ‘bombshell’ news; “In order to supply the Armies in Europe, 31 Group set up at Grove the largest air-freight depot in Britain.” I had absolutely no idea about this!
“Through this depot passed almost every item of equipment needed by an Army in the field. A continuous stream of lorries arrived at this depot and unloaded their cargoes into what 31 Group called the ‘Magic Hangar’. Here the cargo was sorted and routed and, passing out of the aerodrome end, the cargoes were loaded into the aircraft, the bulk of the loading being carried out at night. By this method the crews were able to make an early start, fly all over Europe, returning late at night to hand over their aircraft for servicing and loading in order to repeat the early start the following day.”
“In order to give some idea of the work performed by this unit, the figures for the period December, 1943, to the end of May, 1945, are presented here.”
Cargo carried: 121,742,000 lbs (My note 55,222 metric tonnes?)
Ton miles: 11,673,952
Passengers carried: 122,433
Air evacuation patients: 83,918
Passenger miles: 49,521,760
Flights: 70,634
Transport hours flown: 89,972
Aircraft ferried: 7,000 (This was also part of 31 Group’s duties)
Just for comparison in July 2009 alone HEATHROW handled 109,254 tonnes of air freight - and 2009 was a bad year! However, a C-47 could normally carry 2,700kg (War emergency – 3,700kg), whereas a Boeing 747-400 freighter can carry over 133,000 kgs.
Leullier Patrick
This comment was written on: 2016-10-04 09:11:04Hello Sir ,Very interesting hstory about Grove Airfield. My Maternal Grandfather was Stationed there with is units the 302 Transport Wing as a 405 Clerk Typist ,before the D Day invasion .They have there HQ HQ SQ in Paris France in 1 Rue de Tilsitt 8eme Arrondissement of Paris France ,will using Grove Airfield during ww2. Best regards .Leullier Patrick ( a ww2 Grandson of a 302 Transport Wing veterans ).
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